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Football celebrations continue for Kolkata as Salt Lake Stadium announced to host the ISL 2017-18 final

With the AFC accreditation, the Indian Super League is set to take the game to the next level in season IV.

Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) today announced hosting the Hero Indian Super League 2017-18 final in Kolkata. As a result, the season-opening game which as per the earlier fixture list was to be played at Kolkata on Friday, 17th November 2017 will now move to Kochi.

The decision has been taken post reviewing the grand success of Kolkata hosting the FIFA Under-17 World Cup final concluded recently. Hero ISL started its journey from Kolkata in October 2014 with a glamorous ceremony, the city of Kolkata for the first time will play host to the Hero ISL grand finale on Saturday, 17th March 2018.

The first phase of games at the Hero Indian Super League 2017-18

The reverse game between Kerala Blasters FC vs ATK earlier scheduled in Kochi will now be played in Kolkata on the same day, i.e. Friday 9th February 2018.

The change is fixtures as follows:

17th November 2017: Kerala Blasters FC Vs ATK at Kochi

9th February 2018: ATK vs Kerala Blasters FC at Kolkata

All other fixtures remain unchanged.

The clash between two-time champions ATK and Kerala Blasters FC in the opener will also bring the seasoned rivalry between Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov from Europe to Indian soil.

Hero ISL 2017-18 will see 10 teams in action this season, with the addition of Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur FC, which will result in a prolonged season lasting four months for the first time.

Football Sports Development Ltd., a joint venture between IMG, Reliance Industries and Star India, announced the match schedule for the power-packed ISL season 4 today featuring 95 matches.

The second phase of games at Hero Indian Super League 2017-18

ll 10 teams play each other in a home-and-away format in 90 games before the two-legged semi-finals which are scheduled to take place in the second week of March. Date and venue for the Final of the 2017-18 season will be announced later. All league matches to be played from Wednesday to Saturday will kick off at 8 PM (IST) with Sunday featuring double-headers at 5:30 PM and 8 PM (IST).

The season’s first doubleheader will see a repeat of the 2016 Final between Chennaiyin FC and FC Goa in Chennai followed by AFC Cup 2016 finalist, Bengaluru FC, getting their first taste of Hero ISL when they take on last season’s semi-finalists Mumbai City FC in a home match at Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday, 19th November. The highlight of the day will undoubtedly be India captain, Sunil Chhetri taking on his previous club for the first time.

Jamshedpur FC will play their first home match at the renovated JRD Tata Sports Complex Stadium against title holders ATK on December 1.

Kolkata awarded yet another final

The 10 clubs have collectively spent Rs 132.75 crores in signing 77 international and 166 domestic players. Unlike previous seasons, the maximum number of foreign players in the playing XI has been reduced from six to five from this season onwards. This has prompted clubs to invest heavily on home-grown talents with long-term goals in mind resulting in over 32 Indian players getting multi-year contracts starting this year.